Phuket resorts shut down once more
Hotels in Phuket and Pattaya are closing again due to yet another COVID-19 surge in Thailand.
- A third wave of COVID-19 infections is sweeping through Thailand.
- With this closure, it is expected that hotel occupancy will remain in the single digits until May.
- The only hope for tourists and hotels is a coronavirus vaccine that reaches herd immunity – 70 percent of the population will be vaccinated.
The President of the Thai Hotels Association (THA), Marisa Sukosol Nonpakdee, said on April 23 that the latest coronavirus outbreak has affected not only room rentals but also hotel restaurants and conference centers. Only hotels with a strong financial foundation or those that receive financial support from parent companies will be able to survive, she said.
Hotel operators had expected to bring a relatively strong Songkran into a solid May and limp into the fall, when overseas tourism is expected to resume. But the third wave ruined any chance of making money this spring, Marisa said.
Less than half of the hotels in tourist destinations across the country are open for business. Many of them are considering closing by October. Marisa said this will only fuel the tourism sector’s unemployment crisis. Currently 45 percent of hotel workers are unemployed, the Bank of Thailand reported.
